Pomona, Calif. (Feb. 11, 2010) -- Allen Johnson drove his 2010 NHRA
Pro Stock Mopar® Dodge Avenger to a solid NHRA national event debut today
in the first round of qualifying for the 50th Annual Kragen
O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals. The Team Mopar star grabbed the
provisional No. 5 spot at Auto Club Dragway at Pomona, Calif., in his
maiden run in his new Mopar HEMI®-powered machine.

Following months of testing and tuning, the Greeneville, Tenn.,
native's Mopar Dodge Avenger reeled off a first-class first pass.
Johnson posted a 6.611 ET at 209.39 mph in the first run that counted in
his Mopar Dodge. Lower elapsed times and higher speeds will come in the
final two days of qualifying, according to Johnson.

"We were really conservative on the starting line," said
Johnson, who is celebrating his 15th year on the Pro Stock circuit, all
in a Mopar-powered Dodge. "That right lane always bites people, but
maybe we were a little bit too conservative. The tune-up is close. For
the first run in the new Mopar Dodge Avenger, right off the bat, we were
happy. We'll throw another Mopar HEMI motor in for tomorrow and
compare motors a little bit while we're qualifying.

"It seemed like we ran a little closer to Mike (Edwards, defending
Pro Stock champion) at Vegas last weekend than what we did today, so
hopefully the other motor will be a bit better and we can pick up another
couple of hundredths. If the air stays the same, I think we can go .57 or
.58. That's what we're shooting for."

Mopar-powered veterans Vinnie Deceglie and V. Gaines also experienced
fine competition debuts in their new Dodge Avengers. Deceglie, who will
work closely and share data with Johnson's J&J Racing team, posted
a run of 6.613/209.23, good for No. 6 today. Gaines' run of
6.647/207.82 penciled him into the No. 11 spot at the end of
today's session.

One round of qualifying will take place tomorrow, with two final
qualifying sessions set for Saturday, Feb. 13, at Auto Club Dragway at
Pomona. Elimination rounds are scheduled to take place on Sunday, Feb.
14.